Infrastructure inspection apparatus, infrastructure inspection method, and infrastructure inspection system

ABSTRACT

An inspection method includes, with a sensor mounted in an infrastructure, measuring drive assisting information that is to be used to perform a drive assisting operation of a target vehicle that uses the infrastructure, transmitting the drive assisting information to the target vehicle, receiving, from the target vehicle, information of the infrastructure measured by the target vehicle, and inspecting the infrastructure using the information of the infrastructure.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an infrastructure inspectionapparatus, an infrastructure inspection method, and an infrastructureinspection system, each configured to inspect an infrastructure.

2. Description of the Related Art

Infrastructures, such as tunnels, roads, and bridges age with time. Suchaging infrastructures are to be inspected at lower costs with higherfrequency. Serious accidents may be controlled by finding a fault in theinfrastructure through early inspection.

Equipping a vehicle with a function that assists a driver in driving thevehicle (hereinafter referred to as a drive assisting function) has beenstarted recently. A vehicle having the drive assisting function includesa sensor that measures a surrounding state, and a technique of usingsuch a sensor to acquire data that is used to inspect the infrastructureis disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2007-212309.

If the disclosed technique measures an infrastructure with a driveassisting sensor, a drive assisting capability may be lowered. Forexample, if a wall surface of a tunnel is photographed using a camerathat is intended to photograph an obstacle present ahead to detect apossible collision, the capability of controlling collision against theobstacle ahead may be decreased. Vehicles that participate in themeasurement of the infrastructure are thus limited.

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides an infrastructureinspection apparatus that inspects an infrastructure using informationof the infrastructure measured by a vehicle while controlling a decreasein a drive assisting capability of the vehicle.

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature aninfrastructure inspection apparatus. The infrastructure inspectionapparatus includes a sensor that measures drive assisting informationthat is used to perform a driving assisting operation of a targetvehicle that uses an infrastructure, a transmitter that transits thedrive assisting information to the target vehicle, a receiver thatreceives, from the target vehicle, information of the infrastructuremeasured by the target vehicle, and circuitry which performs operations,the operations including inspecting the infrastructure using thereceived information of the infrastructure.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computerprogram, a computer-readable storage medium such as a compact-diskread-only memory (CD-ROM), or any selective combination thereof.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus of an embodiment of thedisclosure inspects an infrastructure using information of theinfrastructure measured by a vehicle while controlling a decrease in thedrive assisting capability of the vehicle.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 generally illustrates an infrastructure inspection system of anembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the infrastructure inspectionsystem of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a sequence chart of the infrastructure inspection system ofthe embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a vehicle of theembodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an infrastructureinspection apparatus of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment is described with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment described below indicates a general or specific example.Values, shapes, materials, elements, layout positions of the elements,connection configurations, steps, and the order of the steps describedbelow are described for exemplary purposes only, and are not intended tolimit the scope of the claims. From among the elements described in theembodiment, elements that are not described in independent claimsindicating a generic concept are regarded as optional elements.

Each drawing is diagrammatical, and is not necessarily drawn to exactscale.

Embodiment

Configuration of Infrastructure Inspection System

The configuration of the infrastructure inspection system is describedwith reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates theinfrastructure inspection system of the embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1,a target vehicle 10A measures a wall surface 31 of a tunnel 30 using asensor 11 while running through the tunnel 30, and transmits measurementresults to a server 20. A sensor 21 mounted in the tunnel 30 measuresinformation of multiple vehicles 10 running in the tunnel 30 (the targetvehicle 10A, a forward vehicle 10B, and a backward vehicle 10C). Themeasurement results of the sensor 21 are transmitted to the targetvehicle 10A.

The target vehicle 10A has a drive assisting function. For example, thetarget vehicle 10A has functions for collision control (automaticbraking), uniform velocity cruising (auto-cruising), lane-keepassisting, and fully automated driving.

A sensor 11, mounted on the target vehicle 10A, measures an externalstate. More specifically, the sensor 11 may be a stereo camera, a laserrange finder, or a sonar. The sensor 11 measures a range between thetarget vehicle 10A and the forward vehicle 10B or the backward vehicle10C in the vicinity of the target vehicle 10A. The sensor 11 alsophotographs the wall surface, and the road surface, and a device (suchas lamps, or a blower) of the tunnel 30.

The server 20 is an information processing apparatus that inspects thetunnel 30. More specifically, the server 20 is a cloud server. Theserver 20 is connected to the target vehicle 10A and the sensor 21 via acommunication network.

The sensor 21, mounted within the tunnel 30, measures information ofmultiple vehicles 10 running in the tunnel 30. More specifically, thesensor 21 includes a speed sensor that detects the velocity of avehicle, and a camera that photographs a license plate of the vehicle.

The tunnel 30 is an example of the infrastructure, which is used byvehicles. More specifically, the tunnel 30 is a structure thatpenetrates the ground, and vehicles run through the tunnel 30.

Functional Configuration of Infrastructure Inspection System

The functional configuration of an infrastructure inspection system 1000is described with reference to FIG. 2. The infrastructure inspectionsystem 1000 of FIG. 2 includes a vehicle 100 and an infrastructureinspection apparatus 200. Elements included in the infrastructureinspection system 1000 are described in detail.

Configuration of Vehicle

The configuration of the vehicle 100 is described first. The vehicle 100has the drive assisting function, and corresponds to the target vehicle10A of FIG. 1. The vehicle 100 includes a receiving unit 101, adetermination unit 102, a measuring unit 103, a transmitting unit 104,and a drive assisting unit 105.

The receiving unit 101 includes a radio communication adapter, andreceives a variety of information from the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 via radio communication (such as using a local areanetwork (LAN)). When the measuring unit 103 described below measures theinformation of the infrastructure, the receiving unit 101 receives fromthe infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 drive assisting informationfor use in a drive assisting operation of the vehicle 100 (second driveassisting information). The receiving unit 101 may also receive from theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200 an indication of a measurementpoint where the information of the infrastructure is measured.

The drive assisting information includes at least position informationor velocity information of at least one vehicle that uses theinfrastructure. The drive assisting information may further includeidentity information of at least one vehicle. The drive assistinginformation may further include position information of a border of alane, map information, and traffic control information.

The determination unit 102 determines whether to permit the informationof the infrastructure to be measured. More specifically, thedetermination unit 102 determines whether to permit the information ofthe infrastructure to be measured in response to an input from a driverof the vehicle 100. For example, if the driver touches a permit buttondisplayed on a touchscreen (not illustrated) mounted on the vehicle 100,the determination unit 102 determines that the measurement of theinformation of the infrastructure is to be permitted. The determinationunit 102 may determine whether to permit the information of theinfrastructure to be measured in response to a capability of themeasuring unit 103. More specifically, if the measuring unit 103 has acapability of measuring the infrastructure, the determination unit 102permits the information of the infrastructure to be measured. If themeasuring unit 103 does not have the capability of measuring theinfrastructure, the determination unit 102 inhibits the measurement ofthe information of the infrastructure.

In response to the drive assisting information received from theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200, the determination unit 102 maydetermine whether to permit the information of the infrastructure to bemeasured. More specifically, if the second drive assisting informationreceived from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 issubstitutable for first drive assisting information measured by themeasuring unit 103, the determination unit 102 permits the informationof the infrastructure to be measured. If the second drive assistinginformation is not substitutable for the first drive assistinginformation, the determination unit 102 inhibits the measurement of theinformation of the infrastructure. In other words, if the driveassisting capability of the vehicle 100 is not lowered, the measurementof the information of the infrastructure may be permitted.

If the vehicle 100 participates in a service for the measurement of theinfrastructure, the determination unit 102 may permit the information ofthe infrastructure to be measured. For example, such a service mayinclude a reduced rate for expressway toll as an incentive to themeasurement of the infrastructure.

The measuring unit 103 corresponds to the sensor 11 of FIG. 1, andmeasures the information of the infrastructure that the vehicle 100uses, and the drive assisting information for use in the drive assistingof the vehicle 100. More specifically, the measuring unit 103selectively performs multiple measurement modes, including a firstmeasurement mode to measure the drive assisting information and a secondmeasurement mode to measure the information of the infrastructure. Thefirst measurement mode is a standard measurement mode for drivingassisting. The second measurement mode is a special measurement mode toinspect the infrastructure. Note that the drive assisting informationmay be measured in addition to the information of the infrastructure inthe second measurement mode. The multiple measurement modes may furtherinclude another measurement mode in addition to the first and secondmeasurement modes. For example, the measurement modes may includemeasurement modes for drive assisting, such as a measurement mode forfully automated driving, and a measurement mode for collision control.

If the measuring unit 103 is a range finder (laser range finder) tomeasure a range in a predetermined sector from the vehicle 100 forcollision control purposes, the center direction of the measurementsector (sector in a predetermined direction) of the measuring unit 103is approximately aligned with the direction to the front of the vehicle100 in the first measurement mode, and the center direction of themeasurement sector of the measuring unit 103 is shifted from the frontdirection of the vehicle 100 to the direction to the infrastructure inthe second measurement mode. As a result, the range between the vehicle100 and an object present straight ahead of the vehicle 100 is measuredin the first measurement mode, and the range between the vehicle 100 andthe infrastructure is mainly measured in the second measurement mode.The front direction of the vehicle 100 is a forward direction in whichthe vehicle 100 is running straight.

If the measuring unit 103 is a range finder (or a laser rangefinder)that measures a range within a circle centered on the vehicle 100 forfully automated driving, a measurement accuracy is set to be generallyuniform within the circle in the first measurement mode, and themeasurement accuracy is set to be higher in the direction to theinfrastructure than in other directions in the second measurement mode.More specifically, in the second measurement mode, measurementresolution is set to be fine in the direction to the infrastructure andset to be coarse in the other directions.

If the determination unit 102 permits the information of theinfrastructure to be measured, the measuring unit 103 measures theinformation of the infrastructure. On the other hand, if thedetermination unit 102 does not permit the information of theinfrastructure to be measured, the measuring unit 103 measures the driveassisting information for use in the drive assisting operation of thevehicle 100 (the first drive assisting information). In other words, ifthe determination unit 102 permits the information of the infrastructureto be measured, the measuring unit 103 operates in the secondmeasurement mode, and if the determination unit 102 does not permit theinformation of the infrastructure to be measured, the measuring unit 103operates in the first measurement mode.

When the receiving unit 101 receives an indication of a measurementpoint from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200, the measuringunit 103 measures the information of the infrastructure at themeasurement point. For example, if a location of a given apparatuswithin the infrastructure is indicated as a measurement point, themeasuring unit 103 measures information of the apparatus at themeasurement point.

The transmitting unit 104, including a radio communication adapter,transmits a variety of information to the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 via radio communication. More specifically, when themeasuring unit 103 measures the information of the infrastructure, thetransmitting unit 104 transmits the information of the infrastructure tothe infrastructure inspection apparatus 200. Note that the transmittingunit 104 may transmit the information of the infrastructure to theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200 while or after theinfrastructure is used. For example, the transmitting unit 104 maytransmit the information of the infrastructure while the vehicle 100 isrunning in the tunnel 30 or after the vehicle 100 comes out of thetunnel 30.

If the measuring unit 103 measures the drive assisting information, thedrive assisting unit 105 performs the drive assisting operation of thevehicle 100 in accordance with the drive assisting information measuredby the measuring unit 103 (the first drive assisting information). Ifthe measuring unit 103 measures the information of the infrastructure,the drive assisting unit 105 performs the drive assisting operation ofthe vehicle 100 in accordance with the drive assisting informationreceived by the receiving unit 101 (the second drive assistinginformation). If the measuring unit 103 measures the drive assistinginformation (the first drive assisting information) together with theinformation of the infrastructure, the drive assisting unit 105 mayperform the drive assisting operation of the vehicle 100 in accordancewith both the first drive assisting information measured by themeasuring unit 103 and the second drive assisting information receivedby the receiving unit 101.

The drive assisting operation is intended to mean that a driver isassisted in driving the vehicle 100 by automatically performing at leastof one of an acceleration operation, a steering operation, and a brakingoperation of the vehicle 100.

If the receiving unit 101 receives the indication of the measurementpoint from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200, the driveassisting unit 105 may perform the drive assisting operation of thevehicle 100 in response to the measurement point. In other words, thedrive assisting unit 105 may perform the drive assisting operation ofthe vehicle 100 to cause the vehicle 100 to reach a location that isappropriate to measuring the information at the measurement point. Morespecifically, if the specified measurement point is on the wall surfaceof a second lane next to a first lane in which the vehicle 100 iscurrently running, the drive assisting unit 105 may cause the vehicle100 to move from the first lane to the second lane.

Configuration of Infrastructure Inspection Apparatus

The configuration of the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 isdescribed below. The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 inspectsthe infrastructure used by the vehicle 100. The infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 corresponds to the server 20 and the sensor 21illustrated in FIG. 1. The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200includes a measuring unit 201, a measuring capability determination unit202, a function determination unit 203, a selecting unit 204, atransmitting unit 205, a receiving unit 206, an inspecting unit 207, andan indicating unit 208.

The measuring unit 201 corresponds to the sensor 21 of FIG. 1, andmeasures the drive assisting information (the second drive assistinginformation) for use in the drive assisting operation of the vehicle 100using the infrastructure (the target vehicle 10A of FIG. 1, forexample). For example, the measuring unit 201 measures information of atleast one vehicle (multiple vehicles 10 of FIG. 1, for example) thatuses the infrastructure. More specifically, the measuring unit 201captures an image of at least one vehicle that uses the infrastructure,and recognizes identity information of each of at least one vehicle(such as a license plate) from the image. The measuring unit 201 alsomeasures the position and velocity of at least one vehicle that uses theinfrastructure.

The measuring capability determination unit 202 determines whether thevehicle 100 is capable of measuring the information of theinfrastructure. More specifically, the measuring capabilitydetermination unit 202 acquires identity information of the vehicle 100from the measuring unit 201, and references measurement capabilityinformation using the identity information. The measuring capabilitydetermination unit 202 thus determines whether the vehicle 100 iscapable of measuring the information of the infrastructure. Themeasurement capability information defines a correspondence relationshipbetween the identity information and measurement capability, and may bestored on a storage device (not illustrated). Based on informationreceived from the vehicle 100, the measuring capability determinationunit 202 may determine the measurement capability. Also, the measuringcapability determination unit 202 may determine the measurementcapability by recognizing the type of a sensor mounted on the vehicle100 from the image of the vehicle 100.

The function determination unit 203 determines the drive assistingfunctions of the vehicle 100. The drive assisting functions are toassist the driver in driving the vehicle. For example, the driveassisting functions include functions for fully automated driving,collision control (automatic braking), uniform speed driving(auto-cruising), and lane-keep assisting. In the fully automateddriving, acceleration, steering, and braking are all automaticallycontrolled. In the automatic braking, braking is automaticallycontrolled. In the auto-cruising, acceleration and braking areautomatically controlled. In the lane-keep assisting, steering isautomatically controlled.

More specifically, the function determination unit 203 acquires theidentity information of the vehicle 100 from the measuring unit 201, andreferences function information using the identity information, therebydetermining the drive assisting function of the vehicle 100. Thefunction information defines a correspondence relationship between theidentity information and the drive assisting function, and may be storedon a storage device (not illustrated). The function determination unit203 may determine the drive assisting function in accordance withinformation received from the vehicle 100. Also, the functiondetermination unit 203 determines the drive assisting function byrecognizing the type of a sensor mounted on the vehicle 100 from theimage of the vehicle 100.

The selecting unit 204 selects the drive assisting information inaccordance with the vehicle 100. For example, the selecting unit 204selects information of multiple vehicles measured by the measuring unit201, based on a positional relationship between the multiple vehiclesthat use the infrastructure (multiple vehicles 10 of FIG. 1, forexample), and the vehicle 100 (the target vehicle 10A of FIG. 1, forexample). Alternatively, the selecting unit 204 may select the driveassisting information in accordance with the drive assisting function ofthe vehicle 100 determined by the function determination unit 203.

The selecting unit 204 may select information of a vehicle having apositional relationship with the vehicle 100 corresponding to the driveassisting function of the vehicle 100, out of information of multiplevehicles using the infrastructure. More specifically, if the functiondetermination unit 203 determines a collision control function, theselecting unit 204 selects information of the vehicle 100 and a vehiclepositioned ahead of the vehicle 100 within a first threshold range fromthe vehicle 100, out of the information of the multiple vehicles usingthe infrastructure. If the function determination unit 203 determines afully automated driving function, the selecting unit 204 selectsinformation of the vehicle 100 and a vehicle positioned within thecircle having a radius of a second threshold range from the vehicle 100,out of the information of the multiple vehicles using theinfrastructure. The first threshold range and the second threshold rangemay be empirically determined in advance.

Referring to FIG. 1, if the drive assisting function of the targetvehicle 10A is the auto-braking function or the auto-cruise function,the selecting unit 204 selects the position information and velocityinformation of the target vehicle 10A and the vehicle positioned aheadof the target vehicle 10A within the first threshold range (the forwardvehicle 10B) out of the information of the multiple vehicles 10. If thedrive assisting function of the target vehicle 10A is the lane-keepassisting function, the selecting unit 204 selects, from the driveassisting information, the position information of the target vehicle10A and the position information of the border line of the lane in whichthe target vehicle 10A is running. If the drive assisting function ofthe target vehicle 10A is the fully automated driving function, theselecting unit 204 selects, from the drive assisting information, theposition information and velocity information of the target vehicle 10Aand the vehicle that is present within the circle having a radius of thesecond threshold range from the target vehicle 10A (namely, the forwardvehicle 10B and the backward vehicle 10C), the position information ofthe border line between the lanes, map information, and traffic controlinformation.

The transmitting unit 205, including a radio communication adapter, forexample, transmits a variety of information to the vehicle 100 via radiocommunication. More specifically, the transmitting unit 205 transmits tothe vehicle 100 the drive assisting information selected by theselecting unit 204.

The receiving unit 206, including a radio communication adapter, forexample, and receives a variety of information from the vehicle 100 viaradio communication. More specifically, the receiving unit 206 receivesfrom the vehicle 100 the information of the infrastructure measured bythe vehicle 100.

The inspecting unit 207 inspects the infrastructure using theinformation of the infrastructure received from the vehicle 100. Inother words, the inspecting unit 207 inspects the infrastructure usingthe information measured by the vehicle 100. The inspecting unit 207 maycombine the information of the infrastructure received from the vehicle100 and the information of the infrastructure received from anothervehicle, and may inspect the infrastructure using the combinedinformation. In this case, the inspecting unit 207 may combine thesepieces of information in view of accuracy of the information.

The indicating unit 208 indicates to the vehicle 100 the measurementpoint where the information of the infrastructure is measured. Morespecifically, the indicating unit 208 transmits to the vehicle 100 viathe transmitting unit 205 a message indicating the measurement point.The measurement point may be determined in view of a necessity for themeasurement point of the inspecting unit 207. For example, themeasurement point may be a location where the oldest inspection isperformed. Alternatively, the measurement point may be a location wherea fault is likely to occur.

Operation of Infrastructure Inspection System

The operation of the infrastructure inspection system 1000 thusconstructed is described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a sequencechart of the infrastructure inspection system 1000 of the embodiment.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 measures the drive assistinginformation that is used for the drive assisting operation of thevehicle 100 that uses the infrastructure (S101). Referring to FIG. 1,the sensor 21 measures the identity information, position and speed ofeach of the multiple vehicles 10 running in the tunnel 30.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 indicates the measurementpoint to the vehicle 100 included in the multiple vehicles that use theinfrastructure (S102). The measurement point information indicating themeasurement point is transmitted from the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 to the vehicle 100. Referring to FIG. 1, the server 20transmits to the target vehicle 10A the measurement point informationindicating a position in the wall surface 31 of the tunnel 30.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 selects the drive assistinginformation (S103). For example, referring to FIG. 1, the server 20selects, from the information of the multiple vehicles 10, informationof the target vehicle 10A and the forward vehicle 10B that is runningahead of the target vehicle 10A.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 transmits to the vehicle 100the selected drive assisting information (S104), and the vehicle 100receives the selected drive assisting information from theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200 (S105). For example, if theinformation of the target vehicle 10A and the forward vehicle 10B isselected as illustrated in FIG. 1, the server 20 transmits the positioninformation and velocity information of the target vehicle 10A and theforward vehicle 10B to the target vehicle 10A.

The vehicle 100 measures the information of the infrastructure at themeasurement point indicated by the infrastructure inspection apparatus200 (S106). Referring to FIG. 1, the target vehicle 10A captures animage of the indicated measurement point in the wall surface 31 of thetunnel 30.

The vehicle 100 transmits the information of the measured infrastructureto the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 (S107). The vehicle 100performs the drive assisting operation in response to the driveassisting information received from the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 (S108). For example, referring to FIG. 1, the targetvehicle 10A controls acceleration, steering, and braking on the targetvehicle 10A in response to the information received from the server 20.

On the other hand, the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 inspectsthe infrastructure using the information of the infrastructure receivedfrom the vehicle 100 (S109). For example, referring to FIG. 1, theserver 20 detects a crack or a water leak in the wall surface 31 fromthe image of the wall surface 31 of the tunnel 30 received from thetarget vehicle 10A. Also, the server 20 may detect a distortion of thewall surface or a fault in the wall surface from the stereo image of thewall surface 31 of the tunnel 30.

Operation of each apparatus is described below.

Operation of Vehicle

The operation of the vehicle 100 is described with reference to FIG. 4.FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the vehicle 100 ofthe embodiment.

The receiving unit 101 determines whether the drive assistinginformation has been received from the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 (S111). If the receiving unit 101 has received the driveassisting information from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200(yes branch from S111), the determination unit 102 determines whether topermit the infrastructure to be measured (S112).

If the measurement of the infrastructure is to be permitted (yes branchfrom S112), the measuring unit 103 measures the information of theinfrastructure (S113). The transmitting unit 104 transmits theinformation of the measured infrastructure to the infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 (S114).

If the receiving unit 101 has not received the drive assistinginformation from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 (no branchfrom S111), or the measurement of the infrastructure is not permitted(no branch from S112), the measuring unit 103 measures the driveassisting information (S115).

Finally, the drive assisting unit 105 performs the drive assistingoperation of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the drive assistinginformation received from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200(the second drive assisting information) or the drive assistinginformation measured by the measuring unit 103 (the first driveassisting information) (S116).

Operation of Infrastructure Inspection Apparatus

The operation of the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 isdescribed with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustratingan operation of the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of theembodiment.

The measuring unit 201 measures the drive assisting information for usein the drive assisting operation on the vehicle 100 that uses theinfrastructure (S121).

The measuring capability determination unit 202 determines whether thevehicle 100 is capable of measuring the information of theinfrastructure (S122). If the vehicle 100 is not capable of measuringthe information of the infrastructure (no branch from S122), theoperation of the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 ends.

If the vehicle 100 is capable of measuring the information of theinfrastructure (yes branch from S122), the indicating unit 208 indicatesthe measurement point to the vehicle 100 (S123). The functiondetermination unit 203 determines the drive assisting function of thevehicle 100 (S124).

The selecting unit 204 selects the drive assisting information, based onthe determined drive assisting function (S125).

The transmitting unit 205 transmits the selected drive assistinginformation to the vehicle 100 (S126). The receiving unit 206 receivesfrom the vehicle 100 the information of the infrastructure at theindicated measurement point (S127).

The inspecting unit 207 inspects the infrastructure using the receivedinformation of the infrastructure (S128).

Advantages

The vehicle 100 of the embodiment has the drive assisting function. Thevehicle 100 includes the measuring unit 103, the transmitting unit 104,the receiving unit 101, and the drive assisting unit 105. The measuringunit 103 measures the information of the infrastructure used by thevehicle 100, and the first drive assisting information used for thedrive assisting operation of the vehicle 100. The transmitting unit 104transmits the information of the infrastructure to the infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 when the measuring unit 103 measures theinformation of the infrastructure. The receiving unit 101 receives thesecond drive assisting information from the infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200. The drive assisting unit 105 performs the drive assistingoperation on the vehicle 100 in accordance with the first driveassisting information measured by the measuring unit 103 i) when themeasuring unit 103 measures the first drive assisting information, orperforms the drive assisting operation on the vehicle 100 in accordancewith the second drive assisting information received by at least thereceiving unit 101 ii) when the measuring unit 103 measures theinformation of the infrastructure.

When the information of the infrastructure is measured, the vehicle 100is capable of receiving the second drive assisting information from theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200. The vehicle 100 is thus capableof receiving from the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 the driveassisting information that the vehicle 100 is short of when the vehicle100 measures the information of the infrastructure. Since the vehicle100 is capable of transmitting the information of the infrastructure tothe infrastructure inspection apparatus 200, the infrastructure ismeasured using the information of the infrastructure measured by thevehicle 100.

In the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, the receiving unit 101 may receivefrom the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 the indication of themeasurement point to measure the information of the infrastructure, andthe measuring unit 103 may measure the information of the infrastructureat the measurement point.

Information of a location appropriate for the inspection of theinfrastructure is thus measured, leading to an efficient inspection.

In the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, the drive assisting unit 105 mayperform the drive assisting operation of the vehicle 100 in response tothe measurement point.

The vehicle 100 may be guided to the location that is appropriate forthe measurement, and the information of the infrastructure iseffectively measured.

In the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, the measuring unit 103 mayselectively perform the measurement modes including the firstmeasurement mode to measure the drive assisting information and thesecond measurement mode to measure the information of theinfrastructure.

Switching is thus made between the first measurement mode with the driveassisting operation having a higher priority and the second measurementmode with the measurement of the information of the infrastructurehaving a higher priority.

In the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, the measuring unit 103 measures arange within a predetermined sector from the vehicle 100. The centerdirection of the sector may be aligned with the direction to the frontof the vehicle 100 in the first measurement mode, and the centerdirection of the sector may be shifted from the direction to the frontof the vehicle 100 to the direction to the infrastructure in the secondmeasurement mode.

The mode may be switched from the first measurement mode to the secondmeasurement mode by changing a measurement direction of the range of therange finder.

In the vehicle 100 of the embodiment, the measuring unit 103 measures arange within the circle centered on the vehicle 100. In the secondmeasurement mode, the measurement accuracy in the direction to theinfrastructure may be higher than the measurement accuracy in otherdirections.

Effective information for the inspection of the infrastructure is thusobtained in the second measurement mode.

The vehicle 100 of the embodiment further includes the determinationunit 102 that determines whether to permit the information of theinfrastructure to be measured. If the measurement of the information ofthe infrastructure is permitted, the measuring unit 103 measures theinformation of the infrastructure. If the measurement of the informationof the infrastructure is not permitted, the measuring unit 103 maymeasure the first drive assisting information.

If the measurement of the information of the infrastructure is notpermitted, a decrease in the drive assisting capability is controlled bymeasuring the information of the infrastructure.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment is thusused to inspect the infrastructure that is used by vehicles. Theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200 includes the measuring unit 201that measures the drive assisting information for use in the driveassisting operation of the vehicle 100 using the infrastructure, thetransmitting unit 205 that transmits the drive assisting information tothe vehicle 100, the receiving unit 206 that receives from the vehicle100 the information of the infrastructure measured by the vehicle 100,and the inspecting unit 207 that inspects the infrastructure using theinformation of the infrastructure.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 is capable of transmittingto the vehicle 100 the drive assisting information for use in the driveassisting operation of the vehicle 100. The infrastructure inspectionapparatus 200 is capable of providing to the vehicle 100 the driveassisting information that the vehicle 100 is short of when the vehicle100 measures the information of the infrastructure. The infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 thus controls a decrease in the drive assistingcapability of the vehicle 100 caused by measuring the infrastructure.Using the information of the infrastructure measured by the vehicle 100,the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 inspects the infrastructure.The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 thus inspects theinfrastructure at lower cost with higher frequency.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment furtherincludes the selecting unit 204 that selects the drive assistinginformation in accordance with the vehicle 100. The transmitting unit205 may transmit the selected drive assisting information to the vehicle100.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may select the driveassisting information and may thus transmit to the vehicle 100 the driveassisting information with unwanted information removed therefrom. Theamount of communication between the infrastructure inspection apparatus200 and the vehicle 100 is reduced, and the work load on the vehicle 100is also reduced.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment furtherincludes the function determination unit 203 that determines the driveassisting function of the vehicle 100. The selecting unit 204 may selectthe drive assisting information, based on the determined drive assistingfunction.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may transmit to the vehicle100 information appropriate for the drive assisting function of thevehicle 100. This restricts the transmission of the unwanted informationthat is not used by the vehicle 100, and the amount of communication isreduced.

In the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment, thedrive assisting information includes information of multiple vehiclesthat use the infrastructure. The selecting unit 204 may selectinformation of a vehicle that has a positional relationship with thevehicle 100 corresponding to the drive assisting function of the vehicle100.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may transmit to the vehicle100 information more appropriate for the drive assisting function of thevehicle 100.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment furtherincludes the measuring capability determination unit 202 that determineswhether the vehicle 100 is capable of measuring the information of theinfrastructure. If the vehicle 100 is capable of measuring theinformation of the infrastructure, the transmitting unit 205 maytransmit the drive assisting information to the vehicle 100.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may transmit the informationto the vehicle 100 only when the information of the infrastructure islikely to be received from the vehicle 100. The work load on theinfrastructure inspection apparatus 200 is thus reduced.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment mayinclude the indicating unit 208 that indicates to the vehicle 100 themeasurement point where the information of the infrastructure is to bemeasured.

Since the measurement point is indicated, the information of theinfrastructure is effectively collected.

In the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment, thedrive assisting information may include at least the positioninformation or the velocity information of each of one or more vehiclesthat use the infrastructure.

The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may thus transmit theinformation more appropriate for the drive assisting operation of thevehicle 100.

Modifications

The vehicle, the infrastructure inspection apparatus, and theinfrastructure inspection system, related to one more aspects of thedisclosure have been discussed with reference to the embodiment. Thedisclosure is not limited to the embodiment. Modifications of theembodiment easily realized by those of ordinary skill in the art mayfall within the scope of one or more aspects of the disclosure as longas the modifications do not depart from the scope of the disclosure.

In the embodiment, the infrastructure is a tunnel. The infrastructure isnot limited to the tunnel. The infrastructure may be any infrastructureused by vehicles. For example, the infrastructure may be a road or abridge.

The vehicle 100 and the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 do notnecessarily have to include all the elements described above. Forexample, the vehicle 100 may not necessarily have to include thedetermination unit 102. In such a case, the measurement of theinformation of the infrastructure is considered to be usually permitted.The infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may at least include themeasuring unit 201, the transmitting unit 205, the receiving unit 206,and the inspecting unit 207. If the selecting unit 204 or the like isnot included, all the drive assisting information measured by themeasuring unit 201 may be simply transmitted to the vehicle 100. If theidentity information of the vehicle is included in the drive assistinginformation, the vehicle 100 discriminates information of the hostvehicle from information of another vehicle.

In accordance with the embodiment, an element that is not closelyrelated to the inspection of the infrastructure and the drive assistingoperation of the vehicle is not particularly described. The vehicle 100and the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200 may include anotherelement. For example, the vehicle 100 includes an engine and tires.

In accordance with the embodiment, the selecting unit 204 selects thedrive assisting information, based on the drive assisting function ofthe vehicle 100. Alternatively, the drive assisting information may beselected regardless of the drive assisting function. In such a case, forexample, the selecting unit 204 may select, from the information ofmultiple vehicles, information concerning a vehicle positioned within apredetermined range from the vehicle 100. The selecting unit 204 mayacquire the identity information of the vehicle 100 from the measuringunit 201, acquire information for selection corresponding to theidentity information, and select the drive assisting information usingthe information for selection. In this case, the identity information ofthe vehicle and the information for selection may be stored inassociation with each other on a storage device (not illustrated).

Some or all elements included in the vehicle 100 and the infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 of the embodiment may be implemented by asingle large scale integration (LSI) or multiple dedicated electroniccircuits. For example, the determination unit 102 and the driveassisting unit 105 in the vehicle 100 may be implemented by a system LSIor multiple dedicated electronic circuits. The determination unit 102and the drive assisting unit 105 in the vehicle 100 may be implementedby a processor that executes instructions or a software program storedon a non-transitory memory. Similarly, the measuring capabilitydetermination unit 202, the function determination unit 203, theselecting unit 204, and the inspecting unit 207 in the infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 may be implemented by a single LSI or multiplededicated electronic circuits. Alternatively, the measuring capabilitydetermination unit 202, the function determination unit 203, theselecting unit 204, and the inspecting unit 207 in the infrastructureinspection apparatus 200 may be implemented by a processor that executesinstructions or a software program stored on a non-transitory memory.

The system LSI is a super multi-function LSI that is manufactured byintegrating multiple modules on a single chip. More specifically, thesystem LSI is a computer including a micro-processor, a read-only memory(ROM), and a random-access memory (RAM). The ROM stores a computerprogram. The LSI performs the function thereof when the microprocessoroperates in accordance with the computer program.

The system LSI has been described herein. Depending on the difference inthe degree of integration, the system LSI is referred to as IC, LSI,super LSI, or ultra LSI. The technique of integration is not limited tothe LSI. The system LSI may be implemented by a dedicated circuit or ageneral-purpose processor. A field programmable gate array (FPGA) thatis programmable after the manufacture of the LSI may be used, or areconfigurable processor that enables circuit cell connection andsetting within the LSI to be reconfigured may be used.

If an integration technique replacing the LSI technique emerges as thesemiconductor technology advances or as a result of creation of anothertechnique, functional blocks may be integrated using such an integrationtechnique. The use of biotechnology is contemplated as one option.

An aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure is related to not only thevehicle 100 and the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200, but also ameasurement method and an infrastructure inspection method, each ofwhich includes, as steps, characteristic elements included in thevehicle 100 and the infrastructure inspection apparatus 200. Anotheraspect of the embodiment of the disclosure may be related to a computerprogram that causes a computer to perform the characteristic stepsincluded in the measurement method and the infrastructure inspectionmethod. Another aspect of the embodiment of the disclosure may berelated to a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that hasrecorded the computer program thereon.

In accordance with each of the embodiment and the modifications thereof,each element may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or may beimplemented by executing the software program adapted to each element.Each of the elements may be implemented when a central processing unit(CPU) or a processor reads and then executes the software program storedon a recording medium, such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

The disclosure is applicable as an infrastructure inspection apparatusand a vehicle, each of which is used to inspect an infrastructure, suchas a tunnel.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inspection apparatus comprising: a sensor that measures drive assisting information that is used to perform a drive assisting operation of a target vehicle that uses an infrastructure; a transmitter that transmits the drive assisting information to the target vehicle; a receiver that receives, from the target vehicle, information of the infrastructure measured by the target vehicle; and circuitry which performs operations, the operations including: inspecting the infrastructure using the received information of the infrastructure; and determining whether the target vehicle is capable of measuring the information of the infrastructure, wherein the transmitter transmits the drive assisting information to the target vehicle if the target vehicle is capable of measuring the information of the infrastructure.
 2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operations further include selecting the drive assisting information in response to the target vehicle, and wherein the transmitter transmits the selected drive assisting information to the target vehicle.
 3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operations further include determining a drive assisting function of the target vehicle, and wherein the selecting is performed based on the determined drive assisting function.
 4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drive assisting information comprises information concerning a plurality of vehicles that use the infrastructure, and wherein the selecting includes selecting, from the information concerning the vehicles, information concerning a vehicle that corresponds to the determined drive assisting function and has a predetermined positional relationship with the target vehicle.
 5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is mounted in the infrastructure.
 6. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operations further include indicating to the target vehicle a measurement point where the information of the infrastructure is to be measured.
 7. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive assisting information comprises at least position information or velocity information of at least one vehicle that uses the infrastructure.
 8. An inspection system comprising a vehicle and an inspection apparatus, wherein the vehicle includes: a first sensor that measures information of an infrastructure used by the vehicle and first drive assisting information used to perform a driving assisting operation of the vehicle; a first transmitter that transmits, to the inspection apparatus, the information of the infrastructure when the first sensor has measured the information of the infrastructure; a first receiver that receives, from the inspection apparatus, second drive assisting information used to perform the drive assisting operation of the vehicle when the first sensor has measured the information of the infrastructure; and circuitry which performs operations, the operations including: performing the drive assisting operation of the vehicle in response to the first drive assisting information when the first sensor has measured the first drive assisting information; and performing the drive assisting operation of the vehicle in response to the second drive assisting information when the first sensor has measured the information of the infrastructure; and wherein the inspection apparatus includes: a second sensor that measures the second drive assisting information; a second transmitter that transmits the second drive assisting information to the vehicle; a second receiver that receives from the vehicle the information of the infrastructure measured by the vehicle; and circuitry which performs operations, the operations including inspecting the infrastructure using the received information of the infrastructure.
 9. An inspection method comprising: with a sensor mounted in an infrastructure, measuring drive assisting information that is to be used to perform a drive assisting operation of a target vehicle that uses the infrastructure; determining whether the target vehicle is capable of measuring the information of the infrastructure; transmitting the drive assisting information to the target vehicle if the target vehicle is capable of measuring the information of the infrastructure; receiving, from the target vehicle, information of the infrastructure measured by the target vehicle; and inspecting the infrastructure using the information of the infrastructure. 